Cinder's One Downfall
by Goth Albino Angel
Summary: Blake, a girl who lost the only family she'd ever known and was thrown into the harsh world at a young, vulnerable age. Cinder, a woman who lost the one thing that meant the world to her and is seeking revenge on those who took it. What happens when these two collide thanks to Emerald? Post "Welcome to Beacon" Does not account for the rest of Vol. 2. Black Emerald.


**_I don't own RWBY. Thankfully enough, Monty Oum is the creator, meaning no messing around and tons of AWESOME!_**

**_Alright, this was going around a while ago and I just really couldn't resist. I truly tried not to get lost in this one, but now that there's a guaranteed mother-daughter-esque relationship between Emerald and Cinder, I think it is safe for me to do this without any backlash (or at least without too much). Yes, I know Monty vetoed this theory, but the beauty of fanfiction is... if I don't care, I can write it anyway. And yhere you go. Hope you enjoy it!_**

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Ruby and Weiss awoke slowly, glancing around to try determining what had woken them. Ruby spotted the disturbance first. Having looked to the bed diagonal from her own, she spotted a dark figure writhing under the blankets.

"It's Blake." Ruby whispered to her partner, climbing down so she could move closer.

"What do you think she's dreaming about?" Weiss asked softly.

"I'm not sure." The leader sighed, slipping into the brunette's bed and holding her. Weiss followed her lead and stroked Blake's hair, both trying to convey to their sleeping teammate that they were there for her.

Blake shifted again, groaning out softly, tears streaming down her cheeks as her nightmare continued.

_"Mother!" She screamed, running through the streets, looking around wildly. "Mother!"_

_Bright eyes peered at her through the darkness and a voice called, "Wretched animal! Stay away from me!"_

_"Mother!" She cried, tears streaming down her face as the eyes slowly faded, leaving nothing but darkness surrounding her, suffocating her. "Mother, please! Please don't go! Mother!"_

Ruby and Weiss shared a glance as their teammate thrashed before them. "Mother..." Blake groaned, managing to wake Yang. The blonde landed quietly and cocked her head at the trio.

"How long?" She asked, slipping onto the bed and wiping away her partner's tears.

Ruby shook her head. "We woke up a little while ago and found her like this."

"What do you think happened to her parents?" Yang inquired.

"No idea." Weiss sighed. "The most we can hope is that she'll talk to us about it in the morning."

"Yeah, but you know Blake." Ruby whimpered, watching the pain play across her snoozing teammate's features. "She doesn't really like to talk about her past."

"I want her to be comfortable enough to tell us." Yang murmured, still wiping at the tears. "I want to help her."

"We all do." Weiss whispered.

The three of them sat in silence, the only sound to be heard being Blake's soft whimpers. With the help of Ruby's rocking, Blake started to relax, Weiss' fingers still combing through her hair and Yang continuing to wipe away her tears as the dream started to fade. Slowly, she began to calm down and sleep a bit more peacefully. Gradually, the rest of the team followed her into slumber.

Yang went first. As Blake's tears tapered off, the blonde laid her head down on her partner's stomach and drifted off, snoring lightly. Ruby was next. Not used to waking in the middle of the night, the redhead leaned against the wall, a light yawn leaving her followed by snores that mimicked her sister's.

Weiss was no stranger to going on only short periods of sleep, studious as she was in everything she did. However, it was not school work that kept her awake longer than her comrades this time. The heiress was wracking her brain as to what could have gone wrong to cause Blake to lose her parents and wondering if her father had been at all responsible.

_Were they in his labor forces? Did they die in the dust mines? Was it a protest gone bad because of the police? How old was Blake when she lost her mother?_ The questions continued battling and scampering around the white-haired girl's head as she kept up the stroking motion on her friend's hair.

Slowly, tiredness got the better of her and Weiss lay down next to Blake's pillow, looking into the now peaceful face of her friend. Pressing a kiss to the Faunus' forehead, she snuggled against Ruby's legs and shifted against Blake, drifting into sleep as well.

**_..._**

Cinder stared up at the night sky, bright fiery eyes gazing at the bright stars above. She wouldn't normally be stargazing when she had a plan going, usually more focused on getting rest to put the next step into motion.

However, circumstances were not on her side in this instance. Amber eyes closed as the nightmare replayed itself, always the same nightmare.

_Fire everywhere. Nothing had been spared, getting scorched in the inferno that had taken her home. Everything had burned to the ground and nothing was left standing, not even the support beams. The police had everything roped off and bystanders weren't allowed through._

_She raced past the security tape, moving toward the nearest officer to demand answers. He turned away to check something that was being brought from the house. She turned her gaze toward the house as well and gasped, tears coming to her eyes._

_It was a corpse, burned and scorched beyond recognition. Skin barely clung to the crispy bones and singed hair fell away in ashes as the medics examined the body. Moving closer, she felt her stomach turn at two protrusions at the top of the head, two very familiar protrusions._

_She fell to her knees in horror, staring at the body and feeling her entire being go numb. Those were cat ears. That body belonged to a Faunus. **Her** Faunus. Her **daughter**._

_Looking around, she noticed something else. There was a strange abundance of green around the area. There was only one person she knew of who left so much green wherever they went and her eyes narrowed as she realized who was behind this._

_"Qrow...!"_

Cinder opened her eyes, anger and sadness warring in her gaze as she continued looking to the stars. It was around the time it had happened and because of that, sleep was not easily acquired.

She had vowed that she would get all of those men for the destruction of the one thing that ever mattered to her. Of course, her comrades would never understand. Especially Emerald. The red-eyed girl would never be able to comprehend why Cinder treated her so dearly. The brunette viewed the thief as her second chance to have a child, even if it wasn't hers. It was the only reason she refused to let either Emerald or Mercury kill while in Vale. If the wrong person were to find out and recognize their handiwork, they would be hunted.

And Cinder couldn't have that.

Glancing in the direction of the academy, the fire mage sighed, turning back to the stars before glancing to the horizon. The sun would begin rising soon and she would need to act like a student despite being nearly twenty years older than most of the students she would need to communicate with.

A chuckle built in her throat as she thought about the situation. _I'll be a criminal hiding in plain sight. All with the help of a bit of magic._

The smile disappeared soon after and was replaced by a snarl. _Soon, Qrow, Ozpin and all of the rest of them will know what it's like to lose someone close to them. How it feels to have your very reason for living ripped away from you._

Standing, Cinder took one last look at the stars before beginning the short walk back to the visiting dormitory. _I'll make them all pay. Then my daughter will be able to rest in peace._

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**__****_There we go. I know it's not much, but prologues usually aren't. Hope you enjoyed reading it though. :)_**

**__****_Aside from that, just wanted to let you guys know I'm now on Tumblr (gothalbinoangel-fiction), Twitter ((a)gothalbinoangel), a Facebook (Goth Albino Angel) and an Archive of Our Own account (GothAlbinoAngel). There are more details on my profile._**

**__****_And don't forget to drop me a review to let me know how you liked it, Kay?_**


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